Small Business Startup

[Darth Do'Urden]

I'm looking for help, assistance, information, education, etc. on starting up a new small business in the Littleton area. I'm in the very earliest stages, but I do already have a business plan written out. But there's so much I don't know at this point in regards of what avenues to explore to secure financing (not sure a bank loan is even feasible or wise), be it traditional investors, Angel investors, etc.

If there's anyone here that has some personal insight into what I should be doing or questions I should be asking, I'm ears.

As far as the business idea itself, I'm a touch paranoid at this point about letting it out as public knowledge, but I'd be happy to share it with someone who seems genuinely interested in hearing about it in regards to actually making something possibly happen.

[Wrider]

Might want to start with what kind of business it is.
Product?
Service?
What industry?

[Ezzzzy1]

I'm looking for help, assistance, information, education, etc. on starting up a new small business in the Littleton area. I'm in the very earliest stages, but I do already have a business plan written out. But there's so much I don't know at this point in regards of what avenues to explore to secure financing (not sure a bank loan is even feasible or wise), be it traditional investors, Angel investors, etc.

If there's anyone here that has some personal insight into what I should be doing or questions I should be asking, I'm ears.

As far as the business idea itself, I'm a touch paranoid at this point about letting it out as public knowledge, but I'd be happy to share it with someone who seems genuinely interested in hearing about it in regards to actually making something possibly happen.

Poke around though the city and/or chamber (check out their websites) There are usually several small business owners that "mentor" new small business owners. There are also a lot of groups that meet (ours meets third thursday of the month) and focus on support and networking.

If you are serious we should grab a beer.

[Darth Do'Urden]

Poke around though the city and/or chamber (check out their websites) There are usually several small business owners that "mentor" new small business owners. There are also a lot of groups that meet (ours meets third thursday of the month) and focus on support and networking.

If you are serious we should grab a beer.

Now this is what I'm talking about.

I'm exceptionally serious about both. Let's do it. What's your schedule like? (PM me.)

[PunyJuney]

I'm participating in this...you might want to check it out. Our clients get a $100 discount.

Don't miss this two-evening workshop on how small businesses should take advantage of Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Google, etc. The training will be taught April 23rd and 24th in Louisville and here's the link to the events page: http://lnkd.in/WW3yKa As a special perk, friends of CustomerCentric Selling receive a $100 discount off the regular registration fee of $299 when entering discount code CCSDiscount at the registration page: http://lnkd.in/5RFgUv

[Sean]

This is a pretty good resource.
http://www.coloradosbdc.org/

[Darth Do'Urden]

This is a pretty good resource.
http://www.coloradosbdc.org/

Thanks, Sean. Bookmarked.

[vort3xr6]

I'm participating in this...you might want to check it out. Our clients get a $100 discount.

Don't miss this two-evening workshop on how small businesses should take advantage of Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Google, etc. The training will be taught April 23rd and 24th in Louisville and here's the link to the events page: http://lnkd.in/WW3yKa As a special perk, friends of CustomerCentric Selling receive a $100 discount off the regular registration fee of $299 when entering discount code CCSDiscount at the registration page: http://lnkd.in/5RFgUv

I could teach this to anybody willing to learn. I have a lot of experience in it.

[Darth Do'Urden]

I could teach this to anybody willing to learn. I have a lot of experience in it.

How deep into the process of creating a small business is this information? As in, should I be digging this deep without even yet having an actual business in physical existence?

[vort3xr6]

How deep into the process of creating a small business is this information? As in, should I be digging this deep without even yet having an actual business in physical existence?

Depends on if you have a product or service. If you are starting a plumbing company than yes I would say it is a vital place to start because being top 3 in organic search on Google would in my mind be a prerequisite.

If you are focusing on B2B sales then I would say it's not as important early on, but still needs to be factored in.

[Darth Do'Urden]

Depends on if you have a product or service. If you are starting a plumbing company than yes I would say it is a vital place to start because being top 3 in organic search on Google would in my mind be a prerequisite.

If you are focusing on B2B sales then I would say it's not as important early on, but still needs to be factored in.

The business plan is to be a brick-n-mortar operation that provides a proven existing product but in a new way.

[vort3xr6]

Can the product be purchased online? Or is the goal to drive foot traffic to the store front?

[Darth Do'Urden]

Can the product be purchased online? Or is the goal to drive foot traffic to the store front?

Foot traffic only for the most part, with location being very important (of course)...think Old Town Littleton district where there's lots of boutique and specialty type shops, often high-end.

[vort3xr6]

Cool. Then I would say to contact me after you get up and going. Still important but your primary traffic generator is going to be store front displays. The website will just be supplemental and location information while still capitalizing on SEO.

[slim775124]

you should check out SCORE Denver. They are very helpful and will sit down with you one on one and go though your plan to help you get rolling. They are all retired business owners and they really know there stuff

[Rhino]

This was my reply to someone on another forum. Might not directly tie to yours. Mine is a service industry company vs. retail.


Research the ever loving hell out of everything!



Self employment taxes
Quarterly estimated taxes
Forming at least an LLC to separate your business from your personal, i.e. you don't lose your house if something goes wrong.
Liability insurance.
IF you plan on having employees; Payroll tax, unemployment insurance, disability insurance, Obummercare/ health insurance and the whole b.s. package that makes being an employer a nightmare.
Having money set aside for startup and slow times.

If you're not good at keeping track of expenses (like me), tax time sucks...well, even more than it would anyway.

As far as marketing;
On the cheap, vistaprint.com does a bajillion business cards for about $10.
Go Daddy does cheap domain names and web hosting. Pretty much anyone doing any business these days needs a website. Plan on adding a comments section, as that kinda counts as 'word of mouth" to potential customers.

The state website is pretty informative and you can do most things like register a company name, form an LLC, and other things online. Usually cheaper, like if you fill out the paperwork and mail it in it's $120. If you do it online and pay with credit card its like $20.

Get a business credit card to help track expenses. Learn to find or make write-offs. Home office, taking people/clients to lunches/dinners. Vehicles are either actual cost to operate or you can use mileage, about .52 cents a mile last year I think.

[edj]

See if your local chamber of commerce can help ... Boulder chamber of commerce gave us a list of inexpensive business lawyers that specialize in helping small business get started. We paid the lawyer something like $2000 retainer fee and she helped us determine what kind of entity to be (we are s-corp) and got us off the ground with all the paperwork, filing and answering any questions we ever have. She also does our business taxes. I presume people offer similar services in your neck of the woods.

[mtnairlover]

This is a pretty good resource.
http://www.coloradosbdc.org/

+1 on this one. Once you register, you can get an appointment with a small business counselor = free consult. You can also see a listing of various workshops to help you get your business going...anything from Business Basics, to contract law, to bookkeeping, etc. A lot of these workshops are also free and given by the experts.

Best of luck!